A Life Full of "Isms"

Everyone has an "ism".  Skepticism, realism, optimism, pessimism, cynicism...sarca..ism....

You get the point.  We're all prone to SOMETHING!  Being prone to that something gives us our "ism" and makes us an "ist".

Today I found myself doing what it is I always do: Talking.  I am a chatty Cathy doll with a pull cord in the front so I can yank that thing whenever I want and yammer on all day.  On a good day, this is an endearing trait to most people.  Those around me have come to understand how I operate and they let me be.

But when it comes to my "ism", I'm quite the confusing "ist".  I blame logic.  I WANT to be an optimist, but am enough of a realist to be a pessimist.  The way I see it....

I'll tell you that glass is half full, but warn you to be careful because at any moment someone could come walking carelessly by and knock that glass to the floor....where it will shatter into a million pieces.  I will then tell you to stop crying over spilled milk, because I warned you this could happen in the first place.

I recently was given some good news.  That half full glass smiled at me like there was no tomorrow!  Unfortunately, tomorrow came, and I knocked into that glass all by myself.  It is currently falling to the floor. It's either going to shatter, and I will clean up the mess I made, or someone will catch it just before it reaches the bottom and all I'll have is a bit of liquid to mop up with a paper towel.

I don't know which will happen yet (though you can bet I'm banking on the shattering glass), but while ho-humming over this rather depressing incident, I received some good advice from my darling father (I'm paraphrasing)

"What good is worrying about whether or not the glass breaks until it's broken?  You're just wasting time wondering what's going to happen when the glass is on it's way down - you can't do anything past this point until you know the fate of the glass.  Better to keep your chin up and know I'm proud of you."

Those words were like gold.  In a world full of isms, I was offered the chance to choose which "ist" I wanted to be.  Yes I can take bets on what the outcome would be, but it wouldn't control the outcome any better than if I pretended I'd never dropped the glass.

We get so caught up in what could happen, that we forget to enjoy what's happening RIGHT NOW!  I heard myself talking about that stupid glass today to a friend of mine (who of course, can't do anything about it either).  When I realized what a DOWNER I was being about my good thing that, overall, WAS a good thing, I wanted to slap myself (Chris, if you read this I apologize for my Debbie Downer act).

My life is fantastic! I am blessed beyond measure!  There are bumps in the road, sure, but I can't dwell on them.  Sure, someone might knock over the glass, and I warned you they might, but cleaning up the shards isn't so bad (as long as you're careful with the shards).

I'm hoping I'm not alone.  Tell me, have you ever gotten so caught up with a "falling glass" in your world of "isms" that you didn't realize there was a table, chairs, and cupboard full of other glasses in the kitchen with you?






For the Record:
Optimism - That glass is half full and practically bolted to the table!!!
Pessimism - That glass is half empty....broken...already shattered on the ground....(Eeyore)
Realism - That is a glass.  There is liquid in it.  If I bump the table it will fall... if I pick it up I can drink it....so really it's all up to me.
Skepticism - The glass looks half full, but I bet it's half empty.  I bet they didn't even poor it for me anyway.  Might be poisoned. 
Sarca--ism---Nice glass.  Really quaint, the way you filled it straight to that middle line.  No, no, I was only kind of thirsty.  *Drinks glass*  Mm..ambrosia.